Sony’s new video Walkman is IFE-ready

In an echo of the device’s origins, the new S750 video MP3 player from Sony comes complete with an adapter enabling air travellers to enjoy the onboard IFE system with digital noise cancelling provided by the Walkman.

Sony famously developed the original compact cassette Walkman in 1979 after founder Masaru Ibuka asked for a stereo version of the company’s Pressman mono tape recorder so that he could listen to opera while flying: the resulting audio device went on to sell 150 million copies of more than 300 different models in the next 15 years.

Ibuka would have approved of the S750’s digital noise cancellation, which is claimed to reduce background noise by 98 per cent. Other features include 50 hours of battery life for music or 10 hours for video, EX headphones and Clear Audio technologies, plus the company’s digital sound enhancement engine (DSEE), which restores high frequencies that are lost when music files are compressed to recreate more natural, CD-quality sound.